William ii



(No Model.)

' W. H. RAI'GLIFP.

PAPER FASTENER.

No. 467,471. Patented Jan. 19,1892.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM H. RATCLIFF, OF BLOOMFIELD, NE\V JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THOMAS H. WILCOX, OF SAME PLACE.

PAPER-FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 467,471, dated January 19, 1892.

Application filedMay 23,1891. Serial-No. 393,799. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that LWILLIAM H. RATOLIFF, a citizen of the United States, residingat Bloomfield, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Paper-Fasteners; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawin gs, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to reduce the cost of constructing paper-fasteners, secure a more compact and substantial head such as will more perfectly resist or withstand the operations of inserting and withdrawing the fastener into and from the papers to be fastened, and to secure other advantages and results, some of which will be hereinafter mentioned in connection with the description of the construction.

The invention consists in the improved paper-fastener and in the arrangements and combinations of parts, substantially as will be hereinafter set forth, and embodied in the clauses of the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters indicate corresponding parts in each of the views, Figures 1, 2, and 3 are views illustrating the method of manufacture, and Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively a side elevation and longitudinal section of the improved fastener complete for the market.

In constructing the fastener I provide a piece of ordinary malleable wire, Fig. 1,preferably of brass or copper, and bend the same at about the center, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, into the form of an irregular knot-like head a, certain upper spirals or portions a of the convoluted head overlying certain lower portions a so that at the center more metal is provided to secure the desired convexity and thickness and strength at the center Where the pressure on the shanks is the greatest. The opposite ends of the wire are brought together, or nearly so, centrally beneath the heads to form the flexible shanks, and are arranged substantially parallel with one another. The head is then subjected to press ure in suitable dies, and the bentwire is thus pressed out of its normal shape and the head is made smooth and disk-like with a slight convexity on the upper side, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Thus constructed the head is made relatively thicker and more substantial and strong at the center and smooth for the hand, and the objections arising from the use of a two-piece head are avoided. The crossingwires tie or lock the same together when forced out of normal shape, so that the use of solder, 850., is rendered unnecessary in securing the desired firmness of parts. The shanks .are also subjected to pressure, and are made flat or partly flat to provide a broad bearing on the paper and prevent tearing out.

The flattened shanks are separable at the extremities and pointed to admit of their being passed through the papers or articles to be fastened together and of being bent oppositely to fasten or secure the said papers to each other, as will be understood.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is The improved paper-fastener herein described, comprising a continuous Wire centrally bent into irregular overlying convolutions compressed and formed into a substantially solid compact head, the opposite ends of said wire being arranged and lying parallel with each other and together at the axial center of said head and sharpened and adapted to be thrust through the papers to be fastened, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 18th day of May, 1891.

VILLIAM H. RA'IOLIFE.

Vitnesses:

OLIVER DRAKE, OSCAR A. MIcHEL. 

